Method of making conveyer-belts.



R. B. PRICE. METHOD OF MAKING CONVE YER BELTS. Y VAPPILICATION FIN-ED MAR-18v 19H.

1,211,350, mm Im 2,1 17.

UNITED STATES PATENT curios.

RAYMOND 3. PRICE,

OF NEW YORK, N. Y., ASSIGNOR TO RUBBER REGENERATING COMPANY, A CORPORATION OF IIIN'DIAITA- mnrnon or MAKING coNvEYEn-nE 'rs.

To all whom it may concern:

Be itknown that I, RAYMOND B. PRICE, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of New York, county and State of New York, have inventedcertain new and useful Improvements in Methods of Makingv Conveyer-Belts, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

The .invention relates to conveyer belts and the art or method of making the same, and more particularly to a conveyer belt having incorporated therein superimposed plies or layers of fibrous material and rubber, or other vulcanizable material.

' ing action in relation to in the drawings,

By my invention I aim to produce a belt in a manner which will result in a structure, wherein that surface subjected to the abradof the load, will be so compressed and compacted as to withstand wear thereon from the load to a degree to prolong the life ofthe belt. I also aim to produce a belt in which the compactness or density of the wear face when in use as a carrying surface, will be greatest toward the bottom of the trough, or that point of the belt, which, in use is subjected to the greatest wear,"a condition arising in part from the depression of the belt .to form a trough when in use upon the conveyer structure, and in part from the formation of the belt itself.

The invention consists primarily in a flexible conveyor belt embodying therein a body including therein a stratum of fibrous 7 material, the load carrying)surface of which consists ofvulcanized ru ber, one face of which ispermanently united to said body and the portion of which, contiguous to its other face, is under compression when the belt is fiat, whereby a highly pressed or compacted wear surface 'for the belt is secured;, and in other novel features of construction and inthe novel method of producing the same, all as hereinafter described and as more particularly pointed out in the claims hereto appended.

. Referringto the drawings-Figure 1 is a perspective View of a portion of a conveyor belt embodying my invention; and Fig. 2 is atransverse section of such a belt shown the conveyor rollers which in said View are shown in dotted lines.

Like letters refer to like parts in both of said views. t r I In the embodiment .of my invention shown I have illustrated one form of the invention which will clearly exem- Specification of letters Patent,

elastic com-- wear surface of the the drawings,

tion' comprises a body including a stratum Patented Jan. 2, 1917. Y Application filed March 18, 1914. Seria1No.825,6 89.

and operation of. ;a belt v of fibrous material indicated at a in the accompanying drawings, provided upon the under surface thereof with a facing b of vulcanized rubber adapted to engage the driving and the saddle pulleys and an upper or. wear surface 0 of vulcanized rubber adaptedto receive the load. This surface is sub ected to a constant abrading action from the load and the wear thereon determines the life of the belt. While I have shown in-the drawings but a single ply of fibrous material, it is not my intention to limit myself as to the formation of the fabric portion of the body composed .of fibrous material, as any desired arrangement thereof may be employed.

Actual practice has demonstrated that the greatest we'ar'upon a conveyer belt occurs adjacent the longitudinal center of the belt and at the bendsthereof intermediate the middle and side saddle rollers; and to miniinize the efie'ct of this wear and thus prolong the life of thebelt, I provide a structure wherein the depression of the belt to form a trough will result in a high compress1on or'compaction of the wear face thereof at that point with an incidental compression and compaction adjacent the sides thereof. This compression or compaction of the wear face of the belt will have the further advantage that in passing under the return rollers, the belt will be straightened, or partially straightened, without putting this wear surface under stretch. Injother words, when the belt is flattened the surface con-. tiguous its pression so form atrough compression or compaction of the wear face thereof and upon the return of the belt, the lower reach thereof will still remain under slight compression, thus that the depression of the belt to avoiding any tendency to stretch the wear surface to a point which would ultimately reach the limit of elasticity ofthe rubber of the weariface. I In that form of the invention shown in I secure the desired results by arching the belt transversely so that the upwear face will be under comwill have the effect of a high per face thereof will normally have a 'convex curvature and the lower side thereof will normally have a concave curvature before mounting the belt upon the conveyer. When mounted upon the conveyer, however, the various saddle bearin rollers and the weight of the belt and of t e load, will reverse this curvature so that the upper or wear resulting from a shifting of the load thereon. In addition to arching the belt transversely as shown, I also contemplate forming the belt in sections or vulcanizing it in sections and arching each sectlon longitudinally thereof, sov that the straightening of the-belt in applying it to the saddle.

rollers, will, in addition to or in place of the compressions above referred to, place such long1tudinalstresses upon the rubber facing as to compress and compact it, longitudinally as well as laterally.

To produce a beltof the character above referred to, the belt may be built up or formed of the raw or green rubber and fibrous material in any, desired manner, and subjected to the vulcanizing tempera ture. Thereafter, I compress and compact the rubber of the-wear face on both sides of the longitudinal center of the belt, so that as thebelt istroughed, this compression or compaction will be increased and thus givegreater resiliency and density toward the surface of said facing. This compression may be secured in a flat belt by mechanically compressing or compacting a sheet of vulcanized rubber from the sides of the belt toward the center thereof when applying it to the body composed of fibrous material, or it may be secured by arching the belt to form a substantially regular distended con-' vex surface as shown in Fig. 1 of the drawings after it has; been, or while it is being vulcanized, any stretch being removed by the application of heat, so that a subsequent flattening of the belt will place the rubber of the wear surface under compression, the greatest degree of compression belng at the surface and along the longitudinal center of the belt. 0r vulcanized rubber compressed or compacted as by chilling, may be cemented upon or otherwise secured in superficial contact. with the fibrous material of the belt with the belt flat or arched, as desired. till another manner of securing the desired compression of the rubber wear face,

' is by cementing or otherwise securing a vulcamzed rubber sheet upon and in superficial contact with the fibrous material and compressing and compacting ,it by applying stresses thereto from the sides toward the material of this face, while the beltis flat,

and a much higher degree of compression thereof when the belt is troughed.

In use a belt embodying my invention presents a highly compressed or compacted wear face, when traveling upon the saddle rollers, and whenpassing under the return rollers there is suflicient' compression of said wear face to prevent deterioration from the itretching of the rubber forming this surace. 0

Having described my invention, what ll desire to haveprotected by Letters Pat ent is:

1. The process of makingconveyer belts which comprises applying a wear facing of rubber, to a strip of fibrous material and forming a substantially regular distended surface thereon adapted to provide compression when the belt' is flat. 4

2. The process of making conveyer belts which comprises applying avwear facing of rubber to a strip of fibrous material and forming substantially regular distended 3 convex surface thereon.

3. The process of making conveyer belts which comprises applying a wear facing of rubber to a strip of fibrous material and forming a substantially regular distended convex surface of approximately uniform thickness thereon.

4. The process of making conve er belts which comprises applying a wear acing of rubber to a strip of fibrous material, vulcanizing the rubber, shaping the rubbertreated material, and heating the material to set it as so shaped.

5. An art or method of making conveyer belts consisting in applying a load carrying surface of unvulcanized rubber to a body including therein a stratum of fibrous material,

subjecting the belt, while flat, to the action of a vulcanizing medium, thereafter placing the rubber under stretch by arching thebelttransversely with a convex upward curvature, and subjecting the arched belt to heat of a degree to remove the stretch therefrom,-whereby the belt will be given a permanent arched set and the subse uent flattening thereof will place the loa carrying surface under a normal compression or compaction. v

6. An art or method of making conve er belts consisting in applying a load carrying surface of unvulcanized rubber to a body in-, cludlng therein a stratum of fibrous material subjecting a short length section of the'belt while flat to the action of a vulcanizingmedium, thereafter placing the rubber surface under stretch by arching the belt transversely and longitudinally with a convex upward curvature and subjecting the arched Signed at New York city, county and belt to a heat of a degree to remove the State of New York, this 11th day of J an- 10 stretch therefrom, whereby the belt will be uary, 1914.'

' iven a permanent arched set both longitu- RAYMOND B PRICE I 5 dinally and laterally and the subsequent flattening thereof Will place the load carry- Witnesses: mg surface under a normal compression or JOHN J. CASEY, compaction. I CHARLOTTE M. SOHULE 

